`6 z! {4 ~- \% T4 r5 B1 [; d _- T. Y( t! s' E- xShe began working as a prostitute three years ago, at the age of 27. Sears travels to Nevada, where prostitution is legal, and works in a brothel.) x$ L% J9 ?4 z6 }, n( X. b; ]' b, e
“You can make a job out of this? That’s fantastic,” Sears said. “Why would I not do this?”2 ?2 N- a- p1 C9 m8 U8 s# V0 I9 J1 n5 g' C. J% SBy speaking about her experience, Sears hopes to educate people on a taboo topic.4 R5 {: s. ^, o' ~" b9 B& i% }/ U6 c% P5 a% `9 L; Q8 P
“I think a lot of people are upset about prostitution without understanding what it is they are being upset about,” she said. “Which is really frustrating because it’s hard to talk somebody out of something when they are just entrenched in, ‘No, this is what’s right.’”+ h* |) m# y9 y8 }1 b9 E3 C6 O0 l3 b
Sears knows some people may see it as a morality issue, but she sees it as a right.. a6 j e6 t: {7 t' o( f4 A0 |! ?- M$ V5 e+ W3 i! `
“You can say, 'No sex without a condom.' You can say, 'No sex until we’re married.' But you can’t say, 'No sex until you pay me'? And that feels like it really undermines what consent means,” Sears said.) t l6 B8 u8 D2 O. x

" D3 B6 N; o! |7 ]3 W“I’d have to get my taxes out and look at it,” Katherine Sears said. “The best I did, I made $55,000 in three weeks.”& j3 X% N6 o- U" B4 q) Q% g6 _5 J# O# i2 e1 |While working in the brothel, she starts her day with three hours of prep in the morning, between showering, black soap, exfoliating, washing and drying everything. A busy day for Sears means 10 to 15 clients.. t& i1 ` }) d& U. Y; l, `: P5 K7 ?8 E( s5 SSears said she never fears for her safety and as far as sexual health goes, she is required to have health check-ups., d3 y, Q! @% ^% I8 C) Q, i0 p( ` w
“You’re really less likely to get an STD from a prostitute than you are from the general public,” Sears said. K: m+ E) o7 J7 V% ^, w7 g q+ w& e! ~# f% I% I/ `
In the past year, she has taken time off to focus on her law practice and her 4-month-old son. But it hasn’t stopped her from trying to break down misconceptions around prostitution.! Z9 ~& P% g* o" l5 T, p, p9 }3 x9 X“Prostitutes are people,” Katherine Sears said. “Prostitutes I’ve known are some of the best people I’ve known.”! s3 w9 N1 |: R1 w: V7 R; a( o* N+ s2 I$ `& A9 C" H) u4 C: V
While she understands some people don’t agree with her lifestyle, she wants to end what she calls “judgmental stigma.”, X1 w: K% Z/ l$ S4 b8 }. m6 G& j W
“We degrade women who are open about sexuality,” she said. “You’re supposed to be this way and if you’re not this way, you’re bad. So, I think it’s a lot of indoctrination.”# ^0 C& t }4 U x) V) ^6 B9 X1 }6 d" D% Y) b5 b' A oKatherine Sears is so passionate about the decriminalization of prostitution, she is willing to take prostitution cases on pro bono.0 E$ Q' d2 \# x/ a& e( b( \. d- ]* q: }: X6 @
“Their bodies belong to them and we have absolutely no reason to be telling them that you cannot condition your consent this way,” she said.3 ?- r1 K0 H) e, [9 E2 m0 `" O6 ]! V5 O; {* y# ?
Sears believes that decriminalizing prostitution will help reduce sex trafficking.& |- s- u' J* d) M! V/ V

: x5 T9 H/ P$ F$ G [ j“If a prostitute sees somebody who is being trafficked, she is less likely to go to the police and report this because she is incriminating herself, too,” she said. “If she is not doing anything illegal and she’s just doing her job and her friend over here is having an issue, she is now in a position where she can get her help out of that situation.”3 L2 @( \) C% q3 X7 r/ Y0 S3 z/ G- P
A Des Moines defense attorney explains her part-time prostitution job